SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) Recall Lawyers To Support You

SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) Recall Lawyers To Support You

What Are SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are drugs that regulate the amounts of a chemical found in the brain that is commonly associated with depression. That chemical is known as serotonin. The common brand names for SSRI drugs include Paxil, Celexa, Prozac, Lexapro, Zoloft, Pristiq, Effexor, and Welbutrin.

What Are The Risks And Side Effects Of Taking SSRIs

Recent medical studies, and published reports from the last few years, indicate that there are serious side effects to taking anti-depressant drugs during pregnancy. Those side effects mainly impact babies. The brain chemical, serotonin, is found to be crucial to the development of the human fetus. Such that, drugs that impact the balance and amount of serotonin in the brain at various points during a pregnancy (particularly the first trimester) can cause birth defects in infants.

The main location for those birth defects is the infant’s heart. Some of the birth defects reported include aortic stenosis, which is a hole in the heart. Others include cleft palates in infants’ mouths.

Studies have shown that the use of the specific drug Paxil can increase an infant’s risk of the heart defects, atrial septal defects (ASD), ventral septal defects (VSD), and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). Studies likewise reveal that use of the drug Zoloft, in pregnant women, can increase risks of septal defects, ventricular outflow tract defects, PPHN, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

The use and overall safety of anti-depressant drugs during a woman’s pregnancy is highly debated, still today. However, some doctors will passively mimic the labels, instructions, and warnings given by the drug manufacturers that the consumption of such drugs throughout a woman’s pregnancy is somehow safe. It is not medically ethical nor legal to conduct widespread, reputable medical trials on pregnant women to conclusively determine the safeness of such drugs. Only animals can be tested with these SSRI drugs to ascertain their overall health effects on mothers and their babies. As a result, there is a void in the amount and quality of reliable empirical data and information available. It is prudent for any pregnant patient currently taking these medications to discuss the drugs, their safety, and impacts on her and her child’s health as soon as possible.

What Is The SSRI Recall

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) has issued a series of health advisories, alerts, and warnings about these anti-depressant drugs known as SSRIs and their risks for increased birth defects in fetuses and infants. The FDA warnings were first published in 2005 and continued into 2006. To date, none of the SSRI drugs have been recalled in the United States, despite the release of several published medical studies detailing the birth defect risks associated with taking the anti-depressants, particularly within the first trimester of pregnancy.